Narrow your search by selecting one or more of the options below:Keywords

According to an EPA May 2011 report - Implementation of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: Clean Water & Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Programs - stimulus funds have enabled states to sign more than 3,000 assistance agreements totaling $5.6 billion for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5) gave EPA $4 billion for the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund and $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which are both infrastructure grant programs. At least 50 percent of the stimulus funds was to be used to forgive principal, provide negative interest rate loans, or as grants to disadvantaged communities. Additionally, 20 percent of all ARRA funds were to be used for green infrastructure projects that included improvements in water efficiency and energy efficiency.

EPA indicated that as of March 10, 2010, $3.8 billion worth of agreements have been signed for wastewater projects and $1.8 billion for drinking water projects. According to EPA, 2,832 drinking water and wastewater projects began construction by February 17, 2010, generating thousands of jobs in construction and other industries. The report said 74 percent of total ARRA funds for SRFs were given as additional subsidies, “well above the 50 percent requirement.” Specifically, $2.9 billion was awarded as grants or for principal forgiveness under the clean water SRF and $1.3 billion of drinking water SRFs went toward principal forgiveness and negative interest loans. EPA said $1.7 billion (30%) was spent on green projects. Of that amount, 45 percent was spent on energy efficiency, 29 percent on water efficiency, 14 percent on environmental innovations, and 12 percent on green infrastructure, such as grassy swales, porous pavements, and rooftop gardens.